Who keeps taking these photos down?
I was in lower Manhattan the mourning of the attack. At first we thought a smaller plane had crashed into the first tower, than I heard the second jet and it seemed to be right over us, a split second later I heard this sickening boom, then I knew we were being attacked.
All hell broke loose, people were running screaming just complete terror.
I was then assigned to help with the crowds that wanted to get on the ferry to Staten Island, only there was no ferry in the slip.
We had all the gates shut and the thousands of people were trying to get past them
We were worried the crowd would push the people in the front into the water
I was shoving physically pushing people back. The boat finally came in, then another and eventually the crowds became more manageable.
Then the towers collapsed, dust was thick and choking...
I thought I was sick and I had to pee constantly, it was nerves
I helped two young mothers pushing their toddlers in strollers...They lived in Battery park city which is next to the towers, they just ran out of their apartments to escape....
There was another young girl I tried to calm as she was hysterical, she lost both her shoes running away.
People were filthy from the dust and debris....
We did what we could, helped who we could..........
Later on about five PM we walked up to ground zero...The ash got deeper as we got closer, there was burnt up vehicles everywhere,,,Burnt pieces of paper that flew all over...I felt like I was in a movie scene, it was unreal...then I saw it, both towers collapsed, huge piles of rubble, twisted steel, everything destroyed...
Firefighters were dazed..
Two days later I was told take a truck fill it with bottles for burning torches and bring it up there...
We spent about 12 hours helping remove debris with buckets....I found a oxygen tank and than a fireman coat...For a few moments I thought I found a body of a firefighter.,..I called fireman and I think he thought the same thing but it was just the coat and the tanks that a running fighter must have shed as he tried to escape..... You have to understand the pile as it was called was huge, but yet when a whistle blew there was complete. silence and that meant a body was found and being removed...We all stood silent removed our hard hats... If you've ever been in my city you know how alive the place is, now it was deserted...
Only fighter jets flew over head.
I was in the service but never saw combat never feared for my life never saw death until that day and honestly one day was enough....A co worker was with me at the pile two days later, he was older than me. I admired that guy, a real mans man....He acted a little strange and left the area as soon as he could...Some time later I found out why.. I knew he was a VN vet who saw a lot and that day he smelled death and I guess it brought him back to a place he didnt want to be.
When I finally got home that night Sept 11 before I went into the house I stopped over my neighbors, there front door was open the lights were on it was about 11 PM....I walked in looked at her and her husband and she said Johnny is ok, her son a fireman
I walked to my side door and stripped outside to my shorts..I left all my dirty clothes out side that night ...That dust on my clothes all over me in my nose my hair my ears was the dust of people who to this day were never found....I showered for a hour.
That was my experience and God Bless America